In numerous applications of processing apparatus, including for use in the packaging industry and the like, it is necessary to orient objects in a common direction, or to change the direction of orientation of objects to a new common direction and feed same as a high-speed stream for further mechanical manipulation and/or use.
The configuration of the articles being fed and the attitude at which they are to be oriented determine the design of the orienting arrngements. Frequently, intricate and complicated arrangements of gates, cams, guides and other orienting mechanisms are required. These mechanical arrangements may be difficult and expensive to fabricate, arrange in the system, and maintain properly adjusted. In addition, they are frequently prone to jamming in the event that a non-standard or defective article is inadvertently introduced into the feed system or the feed is irregular in timing. Even apparently simple items such as, for example, hollow cylinders, cup-shaped articles and the like, are frequently not conducive to the design of uncomplicated mechanical devices for performing the orientation or re-orientation.
In accordance with the foregoing, it may be regarded as an object of the present invention to provide apparatus capable of orienting, ordering, and rapidly feeding a population of articles having one axis longer than the other axis of cylindrical, rectangular and the like shape and having one end different from the other, which is adjoined to a feed system for said articles wherein the ends thereof are in random orientation, to yield an output stream wherein like ends of all such articles are commonly oriented with their principal axis parallel, thereby facilitating further manipulation and/or processing of said objects.
A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for feeding articles of the type having one axis longer than the other and one substantially weighted end from a collection having the weighted end randomly oriented to yield an output stream in a common endwise oriented position.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for feeding articles of the type having one axis longer than the other and a substantially closed weighted end from a collection having the closed end randomly oriented to yield an output stream in a common oriented endwise position.
Still another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for feeding articles of the type having one axis longer than the other and one end of a substantially different diameter or size than the other end from a collection having the ends randomly oriented to yield an output stream in a common oriented endwise position.